Families of jailed Greenpeace activists call for government action

OTTAWA – The families of two Canadian Greenpeace activists detained in Russia made an emotional plea to the federal government to urge Russia to return the jailed protesters to Canada.

Activists Paul Ruzycki from Port Colbourne, Ont., and Alexandre Paul of Montreal have been detained for more than six weeks, yet their supporters say Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has remained quiet on the issue.

“We are here today, alongside Paul and Alexandre’s family, to urge the federal government to do everything possible to secure the safe release of these two Canadian citizens from their illegal detention,” said Joanna Kerr, executive director of Greenpeace Canada.

Ruzycki’s sister, Patti Stirling, stood stoic at the podium with a Free the Arctic 30 sticker on her sweater – a reference to the 30 people, mostly Greenpeace activists, being held in a Russian jail in Murmansk, a northern city close to the Finnish border.

She likened the imprisonment of her brother to that of Tarek Loubani and John Greyson, two Canadians detained in Egypt earlier this year at an anti-government rally. Baird called on the Egyptian government to return the men to Canada. They were eventually freed.

Amnesty International Canada’s secretary-general, Alex Neve, said Canada cannot remain “conspicuously silent” and that Baird must become directly involved as a show of “strong, visible, political action.”

“When Canada remains silent at the highest levels, that silence speaks loudly, and pressure to resolve the case simply never builds,” he said.

Nicole Paul, the mother of Alexandre, struggled through her plea, tearfully calling on the government to help her son. At one point, overwhelmed by tears, Stirling took her arm, rubbing her back as she continued.

The two women have not heard anything from their loved ones since Stirling received a handwritten letter from Ruzycki 32 days after their initial detention.

A statement from a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said consular services are being provided to Ruzycki and Paul and that Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular) Lynne Yelich met with members of Greenpeace on Tuesday to address their views directly.

Christy Ferguson, Greenpeace’s Arctic campaign co-ordinator confirmed they met with Yelich on Tuesday, but said the minister only came forward after repeated calls to the department.

“Those diplomats have been a real lifeline to those detainees because currently they can only speak to their lawyers and they can speak to those diplomats,” Ferguson said.

Ruzycki and Paul originally faced charges of piracy when Russian military personnel boarded their ship, Arctic Sunrise, after Greenpeace staged a protest on a Russian oil rig against Arctic resource exploitation.

Activists climbed aboard the oil platform, Sept. 18. The seizure of the Arctic Sunrise and arrest of all aboard came a day after. The Arctic Sunrise was in international waters and more than three nautical miles from the platform when it was boarded by the Russian coast guard.

The charges have since been dropped to hooliganism, which still carries a maximum seven-year prison sentence under Russian criminal law.

Under Russia’s criminal code, hooliganism only applies when weapons are used to commit “gross violations of public order on the grounds of hatred for particular racial, ethnic, religious or social groups,” according to Amnesty International’s Neve.

An international court will hold a hearing brought forth by the Netherlands on Nov. 6, asking Russia to release the ship and the 30 detainees.

Chris is a Postmedia intern for two weeks. A journalism student at Carleton University and former intern at the Windsor Star, he's also a graduate of the international exchange programme at the Danish... read more School of Media and Journalism. You can email him at cogorman(at)postmedia.com or follow him on Twitter @chrisogormanView author's profile